


The Infinity Generals

by rindofatangerine



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mind Control, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Worried Tony Stark, aint no rest for the wicked taken too seriously, but theyre kind of minor, many more characters not tagged, me im the wicked, pairings not tagged are not final so comment your favorites, wanda/loki is noncon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23766118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rindofatangerine/pseuds/rindofatangerine
Summary: My children are weak, Thanos thought, surveying the information he’d received on Earth’s mightiest heroes. Not because they were powerless or incapable, but because they lacked individuality. The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy (what he understood Gamora and her group were calling themselves these days) may seem like a scrappy bunch, but when Thanos looked, he saw individuals. And for the first time he began doubting that his plan would go off without a hitch.It was time to recruit the Avengers.-------Or: In which Peter Parker gets unwillingly recruited into Thanos's army and Tony Stark loses his mind.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes & Shuri, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Loki & Peter Parker, Loki & Thor (Marvel), Loki/Wanda Maximoff, Mantis (Marvel) & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Shuri, Peter Parker & Stephen Strange, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	The Infinity Generals

**Author's Note:**

> Quick explanation before you read this story: It’s very important that you know that Thanos DOES NOT intend to destroy half of the population with a snap. I wouldn’t have much of a story if half of the Avengers were already dead. So, I’ve decided that Thanos’s goals align more with what is in the comics: basically, he’s in love with Death and is causing destruction to gain her favor. In this story, Death has a soft spot for Thanos, which is why she doesn’t want him dying (yet), so she demands that he spread the power of the Infinity Stones, and agrees to control the minds of the Generals to further his goals. So just keep in mind that there will be NO SNAP. I have spared you this angst to bring you different angst.
> 
> Also, almost every MCU character will make an appearance at some point but the VAST majority of this will be Spider-Man content with a large helping of Irondad. Think of Infinity War where everyone had a part to play, but in this fic Irondad/Peter will be at the crux of everything.

_My children are weak_ , Thanos thought, surveying the information he’d received on Earth’s mightiest heroes. Not because they were powerless or incapable, but because they lacked individuality. The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy (what he understood Gamora and her group were calling themselves these days) may seem like a scrappy bunch, but when Thanos looked, he saw individuals. And for the first time he began doubting that his plan would go off without a hitch.

Individuality was what made the times change. It was the direct influencer on progress. There was nothing wrong per say with having mindless soldiers that obeyed your every whim, but was it effective in the long term? And the long term had to be considered now.

He’d planned on destroying the stones after he’d used them to wreak havoc on the universes. But Death had come to him in a dream, in all her beautiful glory and warned him there would be dire consequences if he destroyed them. Additionally, she warned him that attempting to wield all of the stones at once would be foolish. She spoke of arrogance and the weakness that came with obtaining power greater than yourself. Usually, Thanos would pay no mind to dire consequences, but Death had promised that she wouldn’t claim Gamora for another fifty years if he listened.

The decision, somewhat surprisingly, was not difficult. What did he care once the stones served their purpose? The promise of Gamora’s survival was enough for him. He did not care for her to die needlessly. Just because he was a prideful man did not mean that he couldn’t make sacrifices. And really, wielding all of the stones at once seemed… temporary, at best. Thanos didn’t think even he could constantly wield all of the stones, and he couldn’t leave them unprotected.

And so, the long term. He’d razed planets for many years now and wanted to continue doing it. But he needed more than what his children could offer him. He needed strong individuals that could wield and protect the stones.

A plan began to form in the back of his head. His children came and left his quarters, anxious. The battle was already supposed to have begun. And amidst their mindless chattering, Thanos came to a decision. A decision that would change the future forever.

 _Your pride_ , Thanos reminded himself, _is not worth the losing of the battle_.

It was time to recruit the Avengers.

Thanos frowned, looking at the holograms and basic information of the various candidates. It was one thing to decide to replace your children with the Avengers. It was another to actually _choose_ which Avengers.

He decided to start with what were known as the “original six” as they were the most popular of the bunch. The Hulk, a monstrous green beast, was immediately out for obvious reasons. He was known for being uncontrollable, and while Thanos didn’t mind a challenge, he wasn’t convinced his efforts would be worthwhile. Death would likely not appreciate candidates with a strong-will. And in addition, too much was unknown about the creation of that beast. Even Thanos was not afraid to say that he did not understand it.

He wasn’t convinced of the woman Black Widow or the men called Hawkeye and Iron Man either. As impressive as it was that regular humans could fight alongside Gods and enhanced beings, he needed protectors with powers. Iron Man did seem to be a genius individual, and the other two well-trained spies… but he doubted that their human-only bodies would be able to cope for long periods of time like a superpowered being could.

Thor was also off the table. Thanos (and Death) had no interest in taking the time to break a God. 

That left Captain America from the original bunch. Him, Thanos liked. He was an enhanced human, but he wasn’t a God. He was apparently known for being unwavering and strong-willed though, which did put a damper in things. Thanos decided that he would consider the man.

The superpowered man Vision would also not work. Vision had to die, because Thanos needed to be able to wield the Infinity Stone in his head whenever he needed it. As powerful as the man was, he just wasn’t an option.

But… there was also Loki to think about. Loki, who had been Thanos’s puppet for many years now. Talented, mischievous Loki who had already proved himself an excellent ally to chaos. So what if he killed Vision, and gave the stone to Loki? It was a promising idea.

As for Scarlet Witch, the woman was highly instable. She was incredibly powerful, and also devoted to the man Vision. But what if Loki took on the appearance of Vision? She could potentially be very easy to control. He decisively cemented her profiles into his personal database.

He found himself uninterested in the men called Falcon, War Machine, and Ant Man. All three appeared to be excellent fighters, but at the end of the day they were unpowered humans cloaked in incredible technology, the same as Iron Man. He was impressed by the inventiveness of their respective technologies, but they were still humans.

The Winter Soldier was another matter. The man had been controlled by a human organization for practically his whole life. He was likely unstable, and he was also another enhanced human. Thanos deliberated for another few seconds before selecting the man.

Spiderman was interesting. While his true identity was unknown, he did appear to be a child, or at least a very young adult. The more Thanos thought about it, the better idea it seemed to be. Children could be swayed. Powerful children were unstable, and unstable children made good allies in the realms of chaos. He’d have to kidnap the young webslinger somehow. Thanos again saved the boy to his database with Loki, Scarlet Witch, and the Winter Soldier. That made four.

The Black Panther seemed like a powerful man, but he was also a king of a powerful nation. Usually, Thanos would rise to the occasion of taking out a powerful nation, but in this case it seemed like a risky choice. The man already appeared to have a strange religion or some kind of connection to the afterlife that spelled trouble. It was likely that Death or some other cosmic being had found favor with him. Somewhat regretfully, Thanos decided to discard him as an option.

Doctor Strange seemed much more promising. The man was already in possession of the time stone, and he wielded it effectively. He was extraordinarily powerful. In his case, Thanos would rely on the lust of power to keep him cooperative. He decided to select the man.

Having gone through the Avengers, Thanos turned to his daughter’s ragtag group. Gamora was an obvious choice. She was powerful and had served him well for many years before her rebellion. But he could not bring himself to cut off her free will. Perhaps she would change her mind and come and join him anyway. Fate, however, rarely worked in the favor of great men.

Drax, Rocket, and Peter Quill were all obvious rejections. The man Drax was nothing but an idiot. Rocket was nothing but a furry, trigger-happy raccoon, and he’d almost rather kill Gamora than watch her pursue a relationship anymore with Peter Quill. Peter Quill was half-god, but he also had no control over his powers, and Thanos was uncertain if after killing his father they would ever resurface.

On the other hand, Mantis was an appealing choice. She’d catered to the whims of a god for her whole life. She lacked the intelligence of a leader, but she made up for it with an interesting array of powers. And besides, it was unlikely that she would need to do much thinking of her own.

Thanos surveyed his choices, satisfied. Loki, Scarlet Witch, the Winter Soldier, Spiderman, Doctor Strange, and Mantis were all powerful individuals, all with certain amounts of instability. They would all make excellent generals. After all, they weren’t just being recruited for the front lines. No, important pieces like these six would make far better leaders than his children. They would make excellent protectors and wielders of the stones.

It would work. It would work, because when Death had returned to his dreams the next night that hear his decision, he’d bargained with her. (“I will not destroy the stones,” Thanos had said when she’d appeared, “if you agree to one condition.” She’d hummed. “I’m already giving you Gamora’s life,” she’d said. “You won’t mind this,” Thanos promised. “Let me make six individuals the protectors and wielders of the stones to keep them from being destroyed, and to keep me from constantly using all of them. In return, you control their minds to obey me.”) And she’d agreed, so long as most of their minds were fairly supple.

It would work, because who could overcome mind control from Death herself?

And, when at last the battles were finished, his six generals would each take an Infinity Stone with them to the deepest corners of the galaxies. Perhaps he should give the generals a name, he mused, one to inspire terror at the thought of engaging them. For the protection of the stones. 

He’d call them his Infinity Generals.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah... this is gonna be a long fic. What have I done.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed chapter one (the prologue)! I can't promise when chapter two will be up because time no longer has any meaning and deadlines are merely vague concepts, but hopefully it'll be up within the next two weeks.
> 
> Adios, hasta la vista, please leave comments and kudos!


End file.
